veiled4allah: do Muslims have to apologize for this too?

Ismail Royer had a post in his blog earlier this week that I thought was worth quoting an excerpt of now:

So why does it seem reasonable to hold every individual Muslim responsible for the actions of a few? And why do Muslim spokesmen accept this responsibility? In the days following the September 11 attacks, American Muslim leaders bent far, far over backwards to condemn the attacks, to such an extent that they sacrificed a certain amount of dignity as they prostrated themselves before the public and the media. Muslim leaders published contrite full page ads in national newspapers, held blood drives, cuddled in photo ops with President Bush, burned candles at vigils, hoisted flags outside mosques and draped their cars, homes and persons in red, white and blue, made pilgrimages to churches to pray for the destruction of the attack's perpetrators. They urged Muslims in America to join the FBI and to enlist in the US military and fight in Afghanistan.

None of it was good enough. From one corner, commentators from the right and left complained loudly that Muslim leaders had been absolutely silent...

Brother Ismail makes some very good points and I'm bringing this up now because I think it's pertinent in the wake of the revelation that the sniper suspect is Muslim.

I believe that it is every Muslim's obligation to stand up for the truth of Islam at all times and to state clearly that Islam condemns terrorism and so do we as Muslims. When wrongdoers use Islam to justify their crimes, we need to set the record straight.

But what about the sniper spree? At no time during his killing spree did the sniper make any statement about Islam or in any way use Islam to justify his actions. Nor has Muhammad made any statement since his arrest to those ends. How then could anybody say that his religion has anything more to do with his actions than Timothy McVeigh's Christian religion had to do with the Oklahoma City attack, or Robert Goldstein's Jewish religion to do with his alleged plan to attack 50 mosques and Islamic centers? McVeigh was a sick madman who happened to be Christian. Goldstein is a sick madman who happens to be Jewish. And Muhammad, if he is indeed the sniper, is a sick madman who happens to be Muslim.

Of course I condemn the sniper attacks. Anybody with the smallest bit of moral conscience does so. It should go without saying that Islam condemns and prohibits wanton murder. So why is it that Muslims are expected to speak up and say this while no one demands that Christians speak up to condemn McVeigh or Jews to condemn Goldstein or their religion stands accused of causing their crimes?

It's time to stop this double standard.

P.S. For those who are still convinced that Muslim leaders and Muslims in America were "silent" in the wake of 9/11, please visit Muslims Condemn Terrorist Attacks. This is a sample of what brother Ismail was referring to.